Blood, Tears, Dust
by lexieconextreme
Summary: Alphonse is killed by Envy, and Roy must try to help Edward pick up the pieces.


**A/N: After much internal debate, I finally decided to reupload this. Unlike before, however, I will not be continuing it. The last time was just a disaster, and I think this is better left as a one-shot. All I really had to do was fix the ending and the title.**

 **Hope you guys "enjoy" it! Heh heh...heh...heh**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters within.**

* * *

A scream ripped through his throat. It was a scream of pure agony and suffering, the scream of someone who no longer had the will to live.

Ed felt numb. He was reasonably sure this couldn't be happening, but he was also very confident in his own ability to judge reality for what it was. So this was very definitely happening.

Everything Ed had worked for up until this point no longer had any meaning, he had nothing to look forward to. No reason to continue in this meager existence that was supposed to be his life.

Al was dead. His little brother...just gone. Erased from Ed's life like you might erase pencil marks from a sheet of paper.

Ed kneeled on the ground, cradling the helmet his brother's soul used to call home. Vaguely, Ed could hear Envy laughing. He wouldn't dare. But this was Envy. The psychopath of a Homunculus that murdered Hughes without any hint of hesitation.

 _Hughes,_ Ed thought, anguished. _My brother. What makes you think you had the right to take them from me?_ Ed rose slowly, clapping his hands softly, so Envy wouldn't hear it over his obnoxious laughing. He extended a long blade from his automail arm, walking carefully up behind Envy.

Ed raised his arm, no hesitation or doubt in his mind. He was going to kill Envy.

But Envy was only playing with him. As the blade flashed down, Envy turned, his arm blocking the otherwise devastating move. Ed stumbled back, surprised but already on the defensive. He raised his arm again, this time to defend himself.

But Envy was fast. He lashed out, transforming his arm into a stone blade as he whipped his arm forward. Ed flipped back, barely escaping the sword. Ed brought his arm up, barely blocking Envy's blow.

Ed didn't feel numb anymore. Or, at least. It was fading away. Leaving room for white hot rage to burn it's way through this soul. Al...his only reason for living was now dea- gone. _God,_ Ed thought. _He isn't really dead, is he?_

But his thoughts nearly got him killed, Envy once again landing another close blow. Ed decided that thinking was probably not the best option right now, instead focusing on destroying the monster that had murdered his little brother.

Envy surged forward, slashing his arm-sword at Ed's feet. Ed jumped up and forward in reply. He whipped his automail forward, putting it through Envy's chest. Envy looked down at the sword stuck clean through his body, then back up at Ed. The Homunculus grinned, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.

Ed's eyes widened, and he realized that the bastard had tricked him again. He tried to jerk himself away.

Too late.

Ed felt a blinding pain in his abdomen, and he felt like he couldn't breathe. He looked down slowly, afraid of what he'd see. His eyes caught sight of a wooden handle. Ed's gaze traveled farther down, toward where the blade pierced his skin. It took him a moment, but he realized that the large spear was the one his brother had transmuted earlier in the fight. Right before Envy had put it through the transmutation circle keeping Al's soul tied to the armor.

Envy had stabbed Ed using the same spear he'd used to kill Al.

Oh, the irony.

At least, it was in Envy's eyes.

Ed collapsed, already bleeding out around the wooden shaft sticking out of his stomach. He wanted to curl up into a ball, be unseen by the monster looming above him.

Quietly, as if from a distance, Ed could hear Envy laughing. _He's still laughing_ , Ed thought foggily. _I want him to stop. He needs to be stopped. He can't be allowed to do this. Not again. Not to anyone else. Never again. Envy can't be allowed to continue. I won't let him. He won't do this again..._

The laughter stopped, and for a moment Ed was relieved. Was Envy gone?

A moment later, Ed screamed. Someone had yanked on the shaft of the spear, pulling the blade back into his body.

"What was that, pipsqueak?"

Ed's eyes opened in surprise. He hadn't realized he'd been speaking aloud. He grinned, tasting the blood in his mouth. He almost choked on his own laughter. Ed forced himself to focus on Envy, to look straight into the monster's eyes.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just going to kill you."

Envy smirked, confident in his work. "Oh, yeah pipsqueak? And how you gonna do that? Don't know if you noticed, but you're kinda incapacitated."

Ed laughed weakly, bringing his sleeve up to wipe his mouth. "Doesn't matter. I _will_ kill you. I _will_ find a way, and you're going to regret killing my brother."

Envy let a slight frown touch his lips, but wiped it away a moment later. He twisted the blade within Ed's gut, and the small teen let out a pained scream. Envy cackled, yanking Ed to his feet. He gripped the boy's throat, shoving him against the nearest wall. Envy held the young State Alchemist there, choking him.

The Homunculus snapped off the longish tip of the spear, making it easier to control. Once again, he dug the blade around inside Edward. The teen struggled weakly against Envy's hold, screaming and trying to move away from the sharp end of the spear his brother had created.

 _More irony,_ Envy thought. _His own brother created the tool of the pipsqueak's demise._ Envy smirked at the thought. He'd decided the moment the Elric brothers had "found" him, that he wasn't going to follow Father's plan for them. Come whatever punishment came for killing them, so be it.

But torturing the pipsqueak alchemist a while longer also sounded like good fun.

Envy paused the movement of the blade, letting the very tip rest against the brick wall. Edward was barely breathing, the movement of his chest minimal. Envy tilted his head, staring at the boy. He let go of the spear, and what was left of the wooden shaft dragged against the stone floor before finally clattering to the ground. Blood flowed freely from the gaping wound in the teen's stomach.

One of Envy's hands was still wrapped around Ed's neck, and the other he used to prod the boy's chest suspiciously. "Hey pipsqueak. You still alive?" There was no sign of life from Ed, and even the shallow breathing from before had ceased.

Envy rolled his eyes, dropping the hand holding Ed up against the wall. Ed's body slid to the floor, leaving bloody skid marks on the wall.

"Did you absolutely _have_ to die so soon? I wanted to have some more fun..." Envy continued babbling, turning on his heel and walking away. He froze at the transmutation sounds. Envy tried to turn, but he wasn't fast enough.

A steel blade was stuck through his chest, and he almost laughed. "Don't you remember what happened last time you tried that, pipsqueak? We both know it won't work."

But that wasn't Ed's plan. The plan was to hold the Homunculus still long enough to perform an actual transmutation.

Edward clapped his hands and pressed them both to Envy's back. Envy let out a shocked scream. He tried to move away from the small alchemist, but the transmutation held him in place. Envy could feel his flesh evaporating, disappearing. He fell to his knees, still struggling to move away from Ed. "What the hell are you doing?!" He screamed. "STOP IT!"

Ed kept his hands firmly pressed to Envy's back. "No, I don't think I will, thank you."

Envy screamed as the last of his flesh peeled away from his body and the transmutation started in at his bones, muscles, and organs.

Edward didn't back off, intent on keeping the transmutation going as long as he could. If he didn't finish it, the Homunculus would just reform and this time, Ed wouldn't be able to defend himself as long as he did last time.

Ed could feel the strength in his body leaving him as he continued to bleed out. His breathing labored, Ed struggled not to pass out. The transmutation was almost complete.

Unable to stand, Envy now leaned against the floor, only his arms holding him up. All that was left now were his bones.

His bones disintegrated into the air, leaving behind only the echo of a scream. Even that was gone after a moment.

Ed collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach. He breathed heavily, his heart pounding and his head aching.

Edward put his hand on the ground, curling his fingers into claws. He dragged himself forward, foot by foot. Finally, after minutes of struggle, Ed came to a rest beside his brother's helmet. He reached forward, clutching at it and holding it close to his body. Ed could feel the strength leaving his body, seeping into the ground and air around him.

Ed's eyes fluttered shut, his breathing ragged. "I'm sorry, Al," he choked, barely able to even breathe. "I'm sorry I couldn't get your body back. I'll see you soon..."

As his mind fell into darkness, Ed thought of everything he and Al had worked for the past two years. None of it was worth it. Al was dead, and soon he would be too.

 _I love you, Al._

Everything went black just as a loud bang sounded throughout the warehouse and sounds of many pairs of feet entered the building.

* * *

When Ed woke up, he was settled in a comfy bed in a sterilized white room.

It was a bit of a rude awakening. For a moment, Ed had no idea where he was or why he was there. His first instinct was to look to Al for what was going on. _Al..._

The memories hit him hard. What Envy had done to him, what Envy had done to his little brother...

Ed drew his arm up over his eyes, shielding them from the bright, white light. He ignored the pain in his stomach and well...the entire rest of his torso.

Oh God, Al.

Why hadn't they let him die? He'd wanted to die, to be with his brother for forever.

Ed breathed deeply, trying to keep the panic from taking control. Al wasn't here anymore, and the whole mission had been for him. Ed could _live_ with automail, could go his entire life having automail. Winry would have loved that idea, no doubt. But Al. Al cannot -could not live in that suit his entire life. Hell, in that suit, Al wasn't technically alive.

But Al wasn't here anymore. What was the point in living now? Ed didn't have a reason now and Al was dead and without him the Philosopher's Stone would be forever out of reach and...-

Ed tried to calm himself down, trying to breathe slowly. He failed. His chest heaved and the tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes, unbidden. Ed tried to wipe them away, but still they came.

He started when he heard the door open quietly. His muscles frozen, Ed listened to the person who'd just come in. There was no sound for a moment. Then the door closed slightly louder than it had been opened and rustling fabric rushed to his side. He felt gentle hands on his arm, trying to tug it away from his face. "Ed? Ed, what's wrong?" A worried voice asked. "Are you feeling okay?" It took Ed a moment to recognize the voice.

He moved his arm slowly, looking at the man hovering anxiously above him. "Mustang?" Ed asked, his voice cracking with disuse.

The older man nodded, trying to contain his relief until he got an actual response from the kid. "Yeah, it's me, kid."

The teen's body relaxed from the state of alarm it'd been in since Mustang entered the room.

Mustang sat down heavily beside the young alchemist's bed, about to pull his hand away. He tried, but was surprised to find Ed twisting his own arm to keep hold of the older man's hand. Ed refused to look at him, but Mustang held onto his hand without a word. Mustang took a deep breath. "You aren't going to like this, Ed, but I need you to tell me what happened."

Ed was silent for a moment, staring off into the distance. When he spoke, it sounded as if his mind was a million miles away. "Al and I were on our way back to the barracks when we saw Envy. He was going down some alley leading into a bunch of warehouses. We followed him, but I think he was trying to bait us. Envy was ready. Al and I transmuted weapons the instant we figured out what was going on." The boy swallowed, more tears crawling their way down his cheeks. Mustang gripped his hand tighter. "We fought. Al is fast, you've seen him fight. But Envy was faster. He cut up Al's armor, then put his own sword through the seal." Ed's throat closed up, and he started crying in earnest. "I couldn't help him, Mustang. I couldn't save my little brother!"

Mustang stood, and Ed looked up, terrified the soldier was going to leave. But he just sat down again on the bed, pulling the teen into a hug. Ed stiffened in surprise, then leaned his head onto the pressed blue military uniform. It felt like his whole body was shaking. "He's gone, he's gone, he's gone..." Ed whispered the words over and over again, still clinging to Mustang for dear life.

They stayed like that for a while before Ed could calm down. "A-after that, I went to try to kill him. He saw it coming. We fought for a few minutes before he tricked me. Put his sword through my stomach. He had some of what he would call "fun", and I got tortured."

Mustang flinched at how flat and even Ed's voice was. There was no emotion, like he was trying to stay away from the memory as much as possible. Mustang also noticed that Ed hadn't said Envy's name.

"Eventually, I passed out for a few minutes. Apparently he'd thought I was dead. He started to walk away, and I got up behind him. I don't really remember the transmutation I did, but I suppose it was something like how Scar kills."

Mustang's eyes widened, staring at the teen in shock. Scar's alchemy? Ed? Ed caught him, staring at him in shock.

"He killed my little brother, Roy. You didn't really expect me to let him live, did you?" Mustang shook his head, a little surprised at the first-name usage, but not upset. "No, I suppose not," he said softly.

Ed turned away, still leaning against Roy's chest for support.

And Roy sat with him for a little while longer, until Ed was almost asleep. Finally, he had to speak again. "Ed, I have to leave soon."

The boy nodded drowsily, staring out the window. Roy moved to stand, but Ed gripped his wrist tightly. "Please, don't leave," he whispered. "Not until I'm asleep."

Roy nodded against his hair, leaning back against the bedframe. Even after the teen finally fell asleep, he didn't move. Edward did not need to be alone at a time like this, and quite frankly, Roy didn't much feel like leaving at this particular moment.

Oh God, poor Ed. Losing his beloved little brother, being inhumanly tortured, and using the same type of alchemy as someone who'd previously tried to kill him, all in one day. The effect that had to have on a person. The effect that would have on Edward.

Roy frowned, glancing down at the teen sleeping on his shoulder and wondering what Ed would do next. Edward had never looked for the Philosopher's Stone for himself, but for his brother. He would no longer care about obtaining the Stone. He would likely quit the military, but what then?

Roy sighed quietly. Whatever. It didn't matter. No matter what Edward chose, Roy would stand beside him.


End file.
